Woody Woodpecker
Woody Woodpecker is a funny animal character created by animator Walter Lantz for short films distributed by Universal Pictures. He is one of the most indicative of the "screwball" type of cartoon character that became popular in the 1940s. He continued to appear in theatrical shorts until 1972, longer than most other characters from the Golden Age of animation. Appearance Concepts of a Woody Woodpecker balloon have dated back to the 1960's, when Walter Lantz requested to have a Woody balloon in the parade. However, Goodyear declined due to fears of lack of aerodynamics, and the project was scrapped. However, Kemp Balloons inc showed interest in a Woody balloon in the early 1980's, as Goodyear stopped producing the balloons. With both Lantz and Kemp on the job, and Goodyear giving tips on making balloons, the balloon was successfully completed Woody Woodpecker first appeared in the Macy's Parade in 1982, behind the Frozen Woodland float, and had the honor of preceding Santa. Woody was accompanied by Lantz himself that year. The next year, the balloon was accompanied by Lantz again, this time with Woody's voice actress, Grace Stafford. That same year, it appeared alongside Bullwinkle to celebrate the opening of a Macy's store in Aventura, Florida. The 270,000 square foot store was so large, it could contain the 75 by 45 foot balloon with ease. In the 1985 parade, he was at the back of the year's balloon lineup. The Woody balloon made its final appearance in 1996, making 15 flights in all. As he was one of the tallest and widest balloons to ever appear in the parade, he was one of the most difficult balloons to fly. As such, he had a number of incidents with trees throughout the timespan in which he was used: trees ripped apart his stomach in 1982 and 1993, his legs in 1985 and 1986, and his hands in 1996; the 1986 parade also saw his head get partially ripped by a lamppost. Size restrictions implemented in 1998 mean that no balloon could be over 78 feet long, 70 feet tall, or 40 feet wide. As Woody was 75 feet tall and 45 feet wide, the widest balloon known to ever be made in the parade, his balloon was barred from making any further reappearances. As Woody has faded into obscurity, no redesign has been introduced since then. Trivia * The Woody balloon's feet were red, which is inconsistent with his animated appearance; his feet are actually yellow. Gallery 64 - 65 World's Fair291-M.jpg|Woody Woodpecker with Underdog and Superman in preparation of the 1982 Parade E200DE9C-077D-40F2-A77F-9AB4A56CA052.jpeg|Woody Woodpecker Balloon in the 1982 Parade Woody1982.png|link=Woody Woodpecker Balloon was Ripped his Stomach in 1982|Woody Woodpecker Balloon was Lowered to the Ground Due to a Ripped Stomach in the 1982 Parade 579C51AA-C7B8-454B-92BE-E40E9063A1A2.jpeg|Woody Woodpecker Balloon was Lowered to the Ground Due to a Ripped Stomach in the 1982 Parade E68DC574-2115-4C9D-BEE5-A10A75B35C1E.jpeg|Woody Woodpecker Balloon in the 1983 Parade B191A550-09F0-41FD-ADB4-6CEDA10C030A.jpeg|Woody Woodpecker Balloon was Lowered to the Ground Because of the Rain in the 1983 Parade E8D784E8-1B68-4F83-9B1C-E299C12272E3.jpeg|Woody Woodpecker Balloon in the 1984 Parade 0533A3BE-1316-4E97-B9D5-C4495366CE3D.jpeg|Woody Woodpecker Balloon in the 1987 Parade 08AC72B7-E6DB-4F22-B3F4-A57A85D727DA.jpeg|Woody Woodpecker Balloon in the 1987 Parade 04130262-EC24-4C26-9E97-20FE0233B9A0.jpeg|Woody Woodpecker Balloon in the 1987 Parade 7C14BEF3-2352-4F79-BD34-C4C9B22D04BC.jpeg|Woody Woodpecker and Snoopy in the 1988 Parade 38553563581_cb91de2930_o.jpg|Woody Woodpecker Balloon in the 1988 Parade CF7AAA75-B8B8-4FE3-9A27-921386C8F5DD.jpeg|Woody Woodpecker Balloon in the 1988 Parade CEF38074-B9B3-46F2-9455-E386D805C528.jpeg|Woody Woodpecker Balloon in the 1988 Parade 29350-1989-6920b.jpg|Woody Woodpecker Balloon in the 1989 Parade B24D1149-47A0-4767-8ED6-A34D3A4B6FC8.jpeg|Woody Woodpecker Balloon in the 1989 Parade FEB92241-CD77-4774-AFDC-659CE594C971.jpeg|Woody Woodpecker Balloon in the 1989 Parade 167B6263-5107-4490-87A1-7C6C5CBEF90B.jpeg|Woody Woodpecker Balloon in the 1989 Parade 9B3377FC-0694-4993-A61E-1F926F64D8F0.jpeg|Woody Woodpecker and The Pink Panther in the 1990 Parade F9ABE7C2-0A9D-4997-A055-3B67BE030D3D.jpeg|Woody Woodpecker Balloon in the 1990 Parade 76B90B16-2735-41F9-A401-645CEDEB7B6D.jpeg|Woody Woodpecker Balloon in the 1991 Parade 6E4B5664-2B78-4E6E-BFCF-1EF440CD1B15.jpeg|Woody Woodpecker, The Pink Panther, Beethoven and Betty Boop in the 1995 Parade 94E209C0-3885-44D6-9F18-E0B32C374E10.jpeg|Woody cheerfully strolls along the parade route in 1995, hopefully, oblivious of the Pink Panther's horrific demise. 9F0B17B2-D042-4E5D-9761-FC6F21B76E19.jpeg|Woody Woodpecker Balloon in the 1995 Parade 20660B29-8987-4370-85CB-9605E87DD3EE.jpeg|Woody Woodpecker and Sonic the Hedgehog in Preparation in the 1996 Parade 8DD7A90F-2477-4695-A9FF-46CA63CB336C.jpeg|Woody Woodpecker's Right Hand was Ripped Off By a Tree in the 1996 Parade 2217ED90-72CA-4B3A-B524-B3B3DF1A447C.jpeg|Woody Woodpecker and Sonic the Hedgehog in the 1996 Parade 1996macys2.jpg|Woody Woodpecker Balloon in the 1996 Parade 58EABD02-0636-4925-A5DD-E790B7C0EA97.jpeg|Woody Woodpecker and Sonic the Hedgehog in the 1996 Parade 99650E0A-75ED-4536-B1F3-4BF5CD12CD6F.jpeg|Eye of the Woody Woodpecker Balloon in the 1996 Parade 10DB1EC2-ABFB-4A31-8D18-E20C6EA21242.jpeg|Woody Woodpecker Balloon in the 1996 Parade 2EC99328-A4BF-4E1D-9903-DA26BF7DCFF4.jpeg|Woody Woodpekcer Balloon with Ripped Hand in the 1996 Parade Category:Macy's Balloon Characters Category:Cartoon Characters Category:Universal Category:Animated Shorts Characters Category:Birds Category:1982 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Category:Non-First Balloon in the Parade Category:Retired Balloons Category:Big Balloons Category:Movie Characters Category:80s Balloons